Chapter 6 Summary

Messner brings a box of opera music in for Roxane to sing and later, those involved in the siege will remember it as a time before the box of music and a time after it. Life starts to take on a new kind of routine. Kato sits down at the piano at 7am and at 7:15, he begins the scales with her. She warms up her voice before singing her choice. On the first day, she sings a piece that Mr. Hosokawa had suggested for his birthday present. She sings rigorously for three hours.

In the beginning, the generals tell each other that they will tell Roxane what to sing, but that fades away like many of the other ideas that the generals have. After Roxane finishes singing, Mr. Hosokawa gets up to get her a glass of water with no ice, just as...